Legendary PETER O’TOOLE hangs it up, suddenly retires.
The eight-time Oscar nominee,79, says he’s retiring after sixty years of performing on stage and screen.
P O’T had hinted at much earlier this year at a TCM retrospective of his work.
"It is time for me to chuck in the sponge. To retire from films and stage. The heart for it has gone out of me: it won’t come back," O'Toole said in a statement.
"My professional acting life, stage and screen, has brought me public support, emotional fulfillment and material comfort. It has brought me together with fine people, good companions with whom I’ve shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits.
“However, it’s my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one’s stay. So I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell."
O’Toole shot to fame as the titular “Lawrence of Arabia” and starred in such classics as “What’s Next Pussycat,” “Lord Jim”, "How to Steal a Million", “Man of La Mancha”, "Becket", "Lion In Winter", “Caligula” and “The Ruling Class” among many others.
Known for his wit and drinking buddies, O’Toole cast an imposing figure across the international arts landscape.
O'Toole was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards, the most recent coming in 2006 for Venus.
He never won a competitive Oscar but was accorded an honorary lifetime achievement statuette in 2003.
